Criminal Justice Policy and Issues
This page includes resources about criminal justice policy and issues. Although Inside-Out is not an advocacy organization, Inside-Out instructors will no doubt have an interest in learning more about things that impact the lives of inside students.
Policy and News
Prison Policy Initiative: Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2020 - The non-profit, non-partisan Prison Policy Initiative produces cutting edge research to expose the broader harm of mass criminalization, and then sparks advocacy campaigns to create a more just society. Subscribe to their newsletter HERE.
The Marshal Project - a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system.
Criminal Justice 101
Although a significant number of Inside-Out facilitators teach in the discipline of criminology/criminal justice, most do not. Here are some resources to give some basic background and context for how the criminal justice/criminal legal system functions.
Jails and Prisons 101 - an overview of the differences between various correctional facilities.
Sequence of a Events in the Criminal Legal System - this charts shows the sequence of events that comprise the criminal legal process.
Kilgore, James. Understanding Mass Incarceration: A People's Guide to the Key Civil Rights Struggle of Our Time. The New Press, 2015 - a helpful introduction to the the incarceration apparatus put in place by the world’s largest jailer: the United States.
Restorative Justice
Click HERE to access a page on restorative justice resources.
Death By Incarceration
Several states, including Pennsylvania, permit life-without-parole sentences. This type of sentence is also known as "Death By Incarceration" or DBI. Below are resources to better understand the issue. For information on the Coalition to End Death By Incarceration, click HERE.